Laura Wolvaardt will lead the Proteas Women in their upcoming series against Pakistan and New Zealand.

Wolvaardt’s interim appointment comes after Suné Luus relinquished her role as captain, and the unavailability of vice-captain Chloe Tryon for the Pakistan tour.

By agreement with Wolvaardt, the position will be reviewed following the conclusion of the home series against New Zealand.

The 24-year-old, who was born in Cape Town, made her international debut at the age of 16 in an ODI against England in February 2016 in Benoni.

The stroke player has since rocketed to third on the all-time ODI run-scorer’s list for the Proteas Women, amassing 3,193 at an average of 45.61 including 29 fifties and three centuries in 80 matches.

In 53 T20I appearances, Wolvaardt has racked up 1,079 runs, including seven half-centuries and a career-best 66* against Bangladesh to help guide the Proteas to a Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final in February.

She has also played in T20 franchises competitions around the globe, such as the Women’s Big Bash League, The Hundred, and the Women’s Premier League in India.

“It’s something I have always aspired to do,” Wolvaardt said of the captaincy. “It’ll help me as a cricketer and learning to think as a captain on the field will hopefully help my batting as well.

“What I can bring to the role is experience,” she added. “I’ve been playing international cricket since I was 16, I know quite a lot of players on the circuit and I’ve been playing in the [franchise] leagues as well. So hopefully, I’m able to use that experience and the knowledge to my advantage when I captain the team.

“I’d like to think of myself as quite calm and level-headed, and that’s probably the approach I will try to take on the field as a captain.

“It is very new to me but I am keen to learn. I’m lucky that I have a couple of senior players in the squad, who would be able to help and guide me if I do need help along the way.”